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The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and colloquially known as the Tories,[19] is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, having won the 2019 general election, and has been the primary governing party in the United Kingdom since 2010. The party sits on the right-wing[26] to centre-right[9][10] of the political spectrum. It encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatives. The party holds the annual Conservative Party Conference, at which senior Conservative figures promote party policy.
The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party and was one of two dominant political parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party. Under Benjamin Disraeli, it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of the British Empire. In 1912, the Liberal Unionist Party merged with the party to form the Conservative and Unionist Party. Since the 1920s, the Labour Party emerged to be the Conservatives' main rival and the Conservative–Labour political rivalry has shaped modern British politics for the last century.
The party has generally adopted liberal economic policies favouring free markets, including deregulation, privatisation, and marketisation, since the 1980s, although historically it advocated for protectionism. The party is British unionist, opposing a united Ireland as well as Scottish and Welsh independence, and has been critical of devolution. Historically, the party supported the continuance and maintenance of the British Empire. The party has taken various approaches towards the European Union (EU), with eurosceptic and, to an increasingly lesser extent, pro-European factions within it. Historically, the party once took a socially conservative approach.[27][28] Its social policy has since become more liberal.[29][30] In defence policy, it supports an independent nuclear weapons programme and commitment to NATO membership.
For much of modern British political history, the United Kingdom exhibited a wide urban–rural political divide;[31] the Conservative Party's voting and financial support base has historically consisted primarily of homeowners, business owners, farmers, real estate developers and middle class voters, especially in rural and suburban areas of England.[32][33][34][35][36] However, since the EU referendum in 2016, the Conservatives have also targeted working class voters from traditional Labour strongholds.[37][38][39][40] The Conservatives' domination of British politics throughout the 20th century, having governed for 65 nonconsecutive years, and its re-emergence in the 2010s has made it one of the most successful political parties in the Western world.[41][42][43][44]
History
Origins
Some writers trace the party's origins to the Tory Party which it soon replaced. Other historians point to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party, that coalesced around William Pitt the Younger in the 1780s. They were known as "Independent Whigs", "Friends of Mr Pitt", or "Pittites" and never used terms such as "Tory" or "Conservative". From about 1812 onwards the name "Tory" was commonly used for a new party that, according to historian Robert Blake, "are the ancestors of Conservatism". Blake adds that Pitt's successors after 1812 "were not in any sense standard-bearers of 'true Toryism'".[45]
The term Tory was an insult that entered English politics during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678–1681, which derived from the Middle Irish word tóraidhe (modern Irish: tóraí) meaning outlaw or robber, which in turn derived from the Irish word tóir, meaning pursuit, since outlaws were "pursued men".[46][47]
The term "Conservative" was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J. Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830.[48] The name immediately caught on and was formally adopted under the aegis of Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto. The term "Conservative Party" rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845.[49][50]
1867–1914: Conservatives and Unionists
The widening of the electoral franchise in the 19th century forced the Conservative Party to popularise its approach under Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli, who carried through their own expansion of the franchise with the Reform Act of 1867. The party was initially opposed to further expansion of the electorate which Liberal Prime Minister William Gladstone had wanted but eventually allowed passage of Gladstone's 1884 Reform Act. In 1886, the party formed an alliance with Spencer Compton Cavendish, Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain's new Liberal Unionist Party and, under the statesmen Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Lord Salisbury and Arthur Balfour, held power for all but three of the following twenty years before suffering a heavy defeat in 1906 when it split over the issue of free trade.
Young Winston Churchill denounced Chamberlain's attack on free trade, and helped organise the opposition inside the Unionist/Conservative Party. Nevertheless, Balfour, as party leader, followed Chamberlain's policy introduced protectionist legislation.[51] Churchill crossed the floor and formally joined the Liberal Party (he rejoined the Conservatives in 1925). In December, Balfour lost control of his party, as the defections multiplied. He was replaced by Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman who called an election in January 1906, which produced a massive Liberal victory. Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith enacted a great deal of reform legislation, but the Unionists worked hard at grassroots organizing. Two general elections were held in 1910, one in January and one in December. The two main parties were now almost dead equal in seats, but the Liberals kept control with a coalition with the Irish Parliamentary Party.[52][53]
In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party. In Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged Unionists who were opposed to Irish Home Rule into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence, formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922. In Britain, the Conservative party was known as the Unionist Party because of its opposition to home rule in Ireland.[54][55] Under Bonar Law's leadership in 1911–1914, the Party morale improved, the "radical right" wing was contained, and the party machinery strengthened. It made some progress toward developing constructive social policies.[56]
First World War
While the Liberals were mostly against the war until the invasion of Belgium, Conservative leaders were strongly in favour of aiding France and stopping Germany. The Liberal party was in full control of the government until its mismanagement of the war effort under the Shell Crisis badly hurt its reputation. An all-party coalition government was formed in May 1915. In late 1916 Liberal David Lloyd George became prime minister but the Liberals soon split and the Conservatives dominated the government, especially after their landslide in the 1918 election. The Liberal party never recovered, but Labour gained strength after 1920.[57]
Nigel Keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses. However, the war pulled the party together, allowing it to emphasise patriotism as it found new leadership and worked out its positions on the Irish question, socialism, electoral reform, and the issue of intervention in the economy. The fresh emphasis on anti-Socialism was its response to the growing strength of the Labour Party. When electoral reform was an issue, it worked to protect their base in rural England.[58] It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes.[59]
1920–1945
In 1922, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin led the breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald came to power. The Conservatives regained power in 1924 but were defeated in 1929 as a minority Labour government took office. In 1931, following the collapse of the Labour minority government, it entered another coalition, which was dominated by the Conservatives with some support from factions of both the Liberal Party and the Labour Party (National Labour and National Liberals).[60] In May 1940, a more balanced coalition was formed[60]—the National Government—which, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, saw the United Kingdom through World War II. However, the party lost the 1945 general election in a landslide to the resurgent Labour Party.[61][62]
The concept of the "property-owning democracy" was coined by Noel Skelton in 1923 and became a core principle of the party.[63]
1945–1975: Post-war consensus
Popular dissatisfaction
While serving in Opposition during the late 1940s, the Conservative Party exploited and incited growing public anger at food rationing, scarcity, controls, austerity, and omnipresent government bureaucracy. It used the dissatisfaction with the socialist and egalitarian policies of the Labour Party to rally middle-class supporters and build a political comeback that won them the 1951 general election.[64]
Modernising the party
In 1947, the party published its Industrial Charter which marked its acceptance of the "post-war consensus" on the mixed economy and labour rights.[65] David Maxwell Fyfe chaired a committee into Conservative Party organisation that resulted in the Maxwell Fyfe Report (1948–49). The report required the party to do more fundraising, by forbidding constituency associations from demanding large donations from candidates, with the intention of broadening the diversity of MPs. In practice, it may have had the effect of lending more power to constituency parties and making candidates more uniform.[66] Winston Churchill, the party leader, brought in a Party chairman to modernise the party: Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton rebuilt the local organisations with an emphasis on membership, money, and a unified national propaganda appeal on critical issues.[67]
With a narrow victory at the 1951 general election, despite losing the popular vote, Churchill was back in power. Apart from rationing, which was ended in 1954, most of the welfare state enacted by Labour were accepted by the Conservatives and became part of the "post-war consensus" that was satirised as Butskellism and that lasted until the 1970s.[68][69] The Conservatives were conciliatory towards unions, but they did privatise the steel and road haulage industries in 1953.[70] During the Conservatives' thirteen-year tenure in office, pensions went up by 49% in real terms, sickness and unemployment benefits by 76% in real terms, and supplementary benefits by 46% in real terms. However, family allowances fell by 15% in real terms.[71] "Thirteen Wasted Years" was a popular slogan attacking the Conservative record 1951–1964. Criticism came primarily from Labour. In addition, there were attacks by the right wing of the Conservative Party itself for its tolerance of socialist policies and reluctance to curb the legal powers of labour unions. The Conservatives were re-elected in 1955 and 1959 with larger majorities. Conservative Prime Ministers Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home promoted relatively liberal trade regulations and less state involvement throughout the 1950s and early-1960s. The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister Eden, but his successor, Macmillan, minimised the damage and focused attention on domestic issues and prosperity. Following controversy over the selections of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home via a process of consultation known as the 'Magic Circle',[72][73] a formal election process was created and the first leadership election was held in 1965, won by Edward Heath.[74]
1965–1975: Edward Heath
Edward Heath's 1970–74 government was known for taking the UK into the EEC, although the right-wing of the party objected to his failure to control the trade unions at a time when a declining British industry saw many strikes, as well as a recession which started in 1973 and lasted for two years. Since accession to the EEC, which developed into the EU, British membership has been a source of heated debate within the Conservative Party.
Heath had come to power in June 1970 and the last possible date for the next general election was not until mid-1975.[75] However a general election was held in February 1974 in a bid to win public support during a national emergency caused by the miners' strike. Heath's attempt to win a second term at this "snap" election failed, as a deadlock result left no party with an overall majority. Heath resigned within days, after failing to gain Liberal Party support to form a coalition government. Labour won the October 1974 election with an overall majority of three seats.[76]
1975–1990: Margaret Thatcher
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Loss of power weakened Heath's control over the party and Margaret Thatcher deposed him in the 1975 leadership election. Thatcher led her party to victory at the 1979 general election with a manifesto which concentrated on the party's philosophy rather than presenting a "shopping list" of policies.[77]
As Prime Minister, Thatcher focused on rejecting the mild liberalism of the post-war consensus that tolerated or encouraged nationalisation, strong labour unions, heavy regulation, high taxes, and a generous welfare state.[78] She did not challenge the National Health Service, and supported the Cold War policies of the consensus, but otherwise tried to dismantle and delegitimise it. To replace the old post-war consensus, she built a right-wing political ideology that became known as Thatcherism, based on social and economic ideas from British and American intellectuals such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. Thatcher believed that too much socially democratic-oriented government policy was leading to a long-term decline in the British economy. As a result, her government pursued a programme of economic liberalism, adopting a free-market approach to public services based on the sale of publicly owned industries and utilities, as well as a reduction in trade union power.
One of Thatcher's largest and most successful policies assisted council house tenants in public housing to purchase their homes at favourable rates. The "Right to Buy" had emerged in the late-1940s but was too great a challenge to the post-war consensus to win Conservative endorsement. Thatcher favoured the idea because it would lead to a "property-owning democracy", an important idea that had emerged in the 1920s.[63] Some local Conservative-run councils enacted profitable local sales schemes during the late-1960s. By the 1970s, many working-class people had ample incomes to afford to buy homes, and eagerly adopted Thatcher's invitation to purchase their homes at a sizable discount. The new owners were more likely to vote Conservative, as Thatcher had hoped.[79][80]
Thatcher led the Conservatives to two further electoral victories in 1983 and 1987. She was deeply unpopular in certain sections of society due to high unemployment and her response to the miners' strike. Unemployment had doubled between 1979 and 1982, largely due to Thatcher's monetarist battle against inflation.[81][82] At the time of the 1979 general election, inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, having decreased under Callaghan, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983.[83]
The period of unpopularity of the Conservatives in the early 1980s coincided with a crisis in the Labour Party, which then formed the main opposition. Victory in the Falklands War in June that year, along with the recovering British economy, saw the Conservatives returning quickly to the top of the opinion polls and winning the 1983 general election with a landslide majority, due to a split opposition vote.[81] By the time of the general election in June 1987, the economy was stronger, with lower inflation and falling unemployment and Thatcher secured her third successive electoral victory.[84]
The introduction of the Community Charge (known by its opponents as the poll tax) in 1989 is often cited as contributing to her political downfall. Internal party tensions led to a leadership challenge by the Conservative MP Michael Heseltine and she resigned on 28 November 1990, making way for a new Conservative leader more likely to win the next general election.[85]
1990–1997: John Major
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John Major won the party leadership election on 27 November 1990, and his appointment led to an almost immediate boost in Conservative Party fortunes.[86] A MORI poll six days before Thatcher's resignation had shown the Conservatives to be 11 points behind Labour, but within two months the Conservatives had returned to the top of the opinion polls with a narrow lead.[87] 1991 was a year of electoral uncertainty as the Conservatives and Labour regularly swapped places at the top of the opinion polls.[87] The election was held on 9 April 1992 and the Conservatives won a fourth successive electoral victory, contrary to pollster predictions.[88][89] The Conservatives became the first party to attract 14 million votes in a general election.[90][91]
On 16 September 1992, the Government suspended Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after the pound fell lower than its minimum level in the ERM, a day thereafter referred to as Black Wednesday.[92] Soon after, approximately one million householders faced repossession of their homes during a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, taking it close to 3 million people.[93] The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship although the end of the recession was declared in April 1993.[94][93] From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail, splitting it up into franchises to be run by the private sector.
The party was plagued by internal division and infighting, mainly over the UK's role in the European Union. The party's Eurosceptic wing, represented by MPs such as John Redwood, opposed further EU integration, whilst the party's pro-European wing, represented by those such as Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke, was broadly supportive. The issue of the creation of a single European currency also inflamed tensions.[95] Major also had to survive a leadership challenge in 1995 by Redwood, then the Secretary of State for Wales. Major survived, but Redwood received 89 votes as well as the backing of The Sun newspaper. This further undermined Major's influence in the party.[96]
The Conservative government was also increasingly accused in the media of "sleaze". Their support reached its lowest ebb in late 1994. Over the next two years the Conservatives gained some credit for the strong economic recovery and fall in unemployment. But as the 1997 general election loomed, it was still looking certain that Labour would win.[87] An effective opposition campaign by the Labour Party culminated in a landslide defeat for the Conservatives in 1997, the worst defeat for the Conservatives since the 1906 general election. The 1997 general election left the Conservative Party as an England-only party, with all Scottish and Welsh seats having been lost, and not a single new seat having been gained anywhere.
1997–2010: Political wilderness
John Major resigned as party leader and was succeeded by William Hague.[97] Shortly before the 2001 general election, Hague was much maligned for a speech in which he predicted that a re-elected Labour government would turn the UK into a "foreign land".[98] The 2001 general election resulted in a net gain of one seat for the Conservative Party and a Labour majority.[99] This was months after the fuel protests of September 2000 had seen the Conservatives briefly take a narrow lead over Labour in the opinion polls.[100]
In 2001, Iain Duncan Smith was elected leader of the party.[97] Although Duncan Smith was a strong Eurosceptic,[101] during his tenure, Europe ceased to be an issue of division in the party as it united behind calls for a referendum on the proposed European Union Constitution.[102] However, before he could lead the party into a general election, Duncan Smith lost the vote on a motion of no confidence by MPs.[103] This was despite the Conservative support equalling that of Labour in the months leading up to his departure from the leadership.[87]
Michael Howard then stood for the leadership unopposed on 6 November 2003.[104] Under Howard's leadership in the 2005 general election, the Conservative Party increased their total vote share and—more significantly—their number of parliamentary seats, reducing Labour's majority.[105] The day following the election, Howard resigned.
David Cameron won the 2005 leadership election.[106] He then announced his intention to reform and realign the Conservatives.[107][108] For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for the Conservatives.[109] Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister. The Conservatives gained control of the London mayoralty for the first time in May 2008 after Boris Johnson defeated the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone.[110]
2010–present: Return to government
In May 2010, the Conservative Party returned to government, first under a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and later as a series of majority and minority governments. During this period there were five Conservative Prime Ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. The initial period of this time, primarily under the premiership of David Cameron, was marked by the ongoing effects of the late-2000s financial crisis and the implementation of austerity measures in response. Additionally there were large-scale changes to healthcare and welfare, a pledge to enforcing stricter immigration policies despite a rise in the total number of immigrants,[111] reforms to education privatisation of some state assets, and legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
After the 2015 general election, the government held a referendum on membership of the European Union; after the country voted to leave, David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister. His successor was Theresa May, whose premiership was marked by attempts to pass an EU withdrawal bill, a snap general election which resulted in the Conservatives losing their majority, and internal strifes within her party over her EU withdrawal bill. As she was unable to pass her EU withdrawall agreement she ultimately resigned in 2019.
After May's resignation, Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Conservative Party by its membership. Later that year he held a general election that resulted in the largest Conservative majority since 1987; subsequently Johnson's withdrawal bill passed a month later. Throughout 2020 Johnson presided over the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[112] From late 2021 onwards, Johnson received huge public backlash for the Partygate scandal, in which various senior members of government, aides, and Cabinet Office staff were revealed to be holding parties and other gatherings during lockdown contrary to Government guidance.[113] This, along with several other scandals, eventually led nearly 60 government officials resigning, which prompted Johnson's own resignation in July 2022.
Liz Truss was chosen by the party membership as Johnson's successor, but after a controversial 'mini-budget' prompted outrage she resigned after 44 days. She was succeeded by Rishi Sunak in late 2022.
The Conservatives time in office has been marked by several controversies. Allegations of Islamophobia have been made against the Conservative Party, including its membership, policies, and structure. These include allegations against senior politicians including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Theresa May, and Zac Goldsmith.
During the period of the Cameron[114][115][116] and Johnson governments,[117] a number of Conservative MPs have been accused or convicted of sexual misconduct, with cases including the consumption of pornography in parliament, rape, groping, and sexual harassment.[118][119][120] In 2017, a list of 36 sitting Conservative MPs accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour was leaked. The list is believed to have been compiled by party staff.[121] Following accusations of multiple cases of rape against an unnamed Tory MP in 2023[122] and allegations of a cover-up,[123][124] Baroness Warsi, who has served as the party's co-chairman under David Cameron, stated that the Conservative Party has had a problem handling complaints of sexual misconducts against members appropriately.[125]
2010–2016: David Cameron
The 2010 election resulted in a hung parliament with the Conservatives having the most seats but short of an overall majority.[126] Following the resignation of Gordon Brown, Cameron was named the country's new Prime Minister, and the Conservatives entered government in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats—the first postwar coalition government.[127][128]
Cameron's premiership was marked by the ongoing effects of the late-2000s financial crisis; these involved a large deficit in government finances that his government sought to reduce through controversial austerity measures.[129][130] In September 2014, the Unionist side, championed by Labour as well as by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, won in the Scottish Independence referendum by 55% No to 45% Yes on the question "Should Scotland be an independent country".[131][132]
At the 2015 general election, the Conservatives formed a majority government under Cameron.[133] After speculation of a referendum on the UK's EU membership throughout his premiership, a vote was announced for June 2016 in which Cameron campaigned to remain in the EU.[134][135] On the morning of 24 June 2016, Cameron announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister, after he failed to convince the British public to stay in the European Union, and subsequently the Conservative Party leadership election was announced.[136]
2016–2019: Theresa May
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On 11 July 2016, Theresa May became the leader of the Conservative Party.[137] May promised social reform and a more centrist political outlook for the Conservative Party and its government.[138] May's early cabinet appointments were interpreted as an effort to reunite the party in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union.[139]
She began the process of withdrawing the UK from the European Union in March 2017.[140] In April 2017, the Cabinet agreed to hold a general election on 8 June.[141] In a shock result, the election resulted in a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party needing a confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP to support a minority government.[142][143]
Her Premiership was dominated by Brexit as she carried out negotiations with the European Union, adhering to the Chequers Plan, which resulted in her draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.[144] May survived two votes of no confidence in her Premiership in December 2018 and January 2019, but after versions of her draft withdrawal agreement were rejected by Parliament three times, May announced her resignation on 24 May 2019.[145]
Subsequent to the EU referendum vote, and through the premierships of May, Boris Johnson, and their successors, the party shifted right on the political spectrum.[26]
2019–2022: Boris Johnson
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In July 2019, Boris Johnson became Leader of the party.[146] He became Prime Minister the next day amidst significant political turmoil. Johnson had made withdrawal from the EU by 31 October "with no ifs, buts or maybes" a key pledge during his campaign for party leadership.[147]
Johnson lost his working majority in the House of Commons on 3 September 2019.[148] Later that same day, 21 Conservative MPs had the Conservative whip withdrawn after voting with the Opposition to grant the House of Commons control over its order paper.[149] Johnson would later halt the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, calling for a general election to be held.[150]
The 2019 general election resulted in the Conservatives winning a majority, the Party's largest since 1987.[151] The party won several constituencies, particularly in formerly traditional Labour seats.[37][38] On 20 December 2019, MPs passed an agreement for withdrawing from the EU, the United Kingdom formally left at 11pm on 31 January 2020.[152][153]
Johnson presided over the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[154] From late 2021 onwards, Johnson received huge public backlash for the Partygate scandal, in which various senior members of government, aides, and Cabinet Office staff were pictured holding parties and other gatherings during lockdown contrary to Government guidance.[155] The Metropolitan Police eventually fined Johnson for breaking lockdown rules in April 2022.[156] In July 2022, Johnson admitted to appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip while being aware of allegations of sexual assault against him.[157] This, along with Partygate and increasing criticisms on Johnson's handling of the cost-of-living crisis, provoked a government crisis following a loss in confidence and nearly 60 resignations from government officials; eventually leading to Johnson announcing his resignation as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister on 7 July.[158][159]
2022: Liz Truss
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Boris Johnson's successor as leader was confirmed as Liz Truss on 5 September, following a leadership election.[160] In a strategy labelled Trussonomics she introduced policies in response to the cost of living crisis,[161] including price caps on energy bills and government help to pay them.[162] Truss's mini-budget on 23 September faced severe criticism and markets reacted poorly;[163] the pound fell to a record low of 1.03 against the dollar, and UK government gilt yields rose to 4.3 per cent, prompting the Bank of England to trigger an emergency bond-buying programme.[164][165] After condemnation from the public, the Labour Party and her own party, Truss reversed some aspects of the mini-budget, including the abolition of the top rate of income tax.[166][167] Following a government crisis Truss announced her resignation as prime minister on 20 October[168] after 44 days in office, the shortest premiership in British history.[168][169] Truss also oversaw the worst polling the Conservatives had ever received, with Labour polling as high as 36 per cent above the Conservatives amidst the crisis.[170]
2022–present: Rishi Sunak
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Another leadership election began after Truss' resignation, with an increased nomination threshold of 100 and promises to conclude before 28 October, with Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt declaring their candidacies.[171][172] Boris Johnson was widely expected to attempt a comeback, but, although obtaining the sufficient amount of support to enter the race, ruled himself out on 23 October.[173] On 24 October, Mordaunt pulled out of the leadership race, and Sunak was declared Leader – with Sunak being the first British Asian Leader of the Conservatives and the first British Asian Prime Minister.
Policies
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